Cabbage
We’ve been growing cabbages for longer than almost any other vegetable. You can get red and white cabbages, found in coleslaw, Napa cabbage, usually found in Chinese cooking, pak choi, and savoy cabbages.
Nutrition
Cabbage is a fantastic source of vitamins K, C and folic acid to support blood clotting, bone health and your immune system.
Shopping Guide
Choose a fresh cabbage that is weighty for its size because it is a tough and dense vegetable. Try to pick a head that is small and has sturdy, compact leaves. While red cabbage should have richly hued purple leaves, green cabbage should have glossy, brilliant green leaves.
Storage
Cabbage keeps for a while – just store it dry in the fridge for 1-2 months. Once cut, it will still last a few days, just wrap tightly or store in an airtight container.
Preparation
Cabbage can be steamed, boiled, microwaved, stuffed, roasted, braised or stir-fried, and eaten pickled or fermented (sauerkraut) or raw in the form of salads or slaws (just mix with some mayonnaise or yoghurt, lemon juice and grated carrots and/or apples).
Kids in the Kitchen
For a younger child, why not show them how to carefully grate cabbage and mix it with mayonnaise, grated carrots and apple, and perhaps some seasoning, lemon juice, herbs or raisins to make a yummy homemade slaw!
For an older child, it could be a great opportunity to teach some essential knife skills. Can they thinly slice the cabbage with your help using the bridge and claw techniques?
Find more ideas for involving kids in the kitchen here.
Sensory
Cabbage is perfect for exploring with sight, especially red cabbage, since it is so visually fun! Describe a whole cabbage and one cut in half. What do you see? What colours are there? What patterns? What does it look like? If you feel up to trying some, take a little piece and chew it. If you are using red cabbage, stick your tongue out when you’ve swallowed – is your tongue purple yet? No? Then try again and see how purple you can go!
Find more sensory ideas, tips and videos here. If you get stuck and need a little help with describing words, we have a selection for you here, too!
Serving
Made some coleslaw with your child? Let them claim all credit for the dish and come up with a fun name for it! Can they find a great pun or a play on their name or even a silly story for the slaw they’ve helped make?
Find the best ways of involving your own child and their skills and interests on our Roles for Kids page.
Activities
Why not try sketching a red or Savoy cabbage that you have cut in half? Try to capture the amazing patterns and colours you see with colouring pencils, pens or paint!
Did you know red cabbage is a perfect PH indicator? Follow Stefan Gates’ video and tips to explore acidity and alkalinity with cabbage with his amazing colour-changing cabbage experiment. Or, explore the water-repelling abilities of red cabbage with his simple water-phobic cabbage experiment. You can find more at-home science fun with veg with our videos from Stefan Gates’ here.
Seasonality
Buying veg in season is not only great for the planet, it can be good for your wallet, too! Cabbage is a year-round veg and always affordable, but different varieties are more likely to taste better and be a little cheaper at different times of year. Try spring cabbage in (you guessed it) springtime, white in summer, red in autumn and Savoy in the winter for the best of all the seasons.
At Its Best:
January - December
Your Food
Different cabbage varieties have different flavours, but they are usually more on the bitter side and have a fairly hard texture, so if your child has those preferences, it could be a great place to start! It can easily just be grated with some carrots and/or apples and mixed with mayo for a slaw, but if you want more ideas, why not try some of these…
Family Favourites
More Recipes
Anthony’s Vibrant Slaw of Fennel, Carrot & Cabbage with Passion Fruit Dressing
Anthony Cotton
If You Like Cabbage…Try
Does your child enjoy cabbage? That’s great! Cabbage varieties can be very different from each other, but many are bitter and soft, so why not try a similar texture and/or taste…
The Wonderful World of Veg
Check out our vegepedia. When to buy in-season. How to store them to keep for longer. How to engage children with each veg, and simple ideas of how to prepare and cook them for maximum taste and minimum waste. Select a veg…